Operation Get Zoro
by dancingyellow
Summary: Sorry for any delays! Thanks for reading! Also, with the way I am writing this, I am trying to slowly build up anything big. I don't want to make the chapters to long. Please enjoy! And Review please so that I can improve the story.
1. Chapter 1

It has been two years since they have seen each other. The Strawhat crew is now heading to the New World with everyone back together, safe and sound. Nami was sunbathing next to Nico Robin on the upper deck of the Thousand Sunny. Her long, orange hair was tossed carelessly to her side as she stared up at the sky. Robin was reading a new book she had picked up on her journeys with the Revolutionary Army. Nami looked around the ship at her other crewmates. Zoro was napping against the mast, just like he did two years ago. Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp were all playing a game of tag. Franky was building some type of new weapon downstairs. Brooke was sitting on the grass testing out some new songs he wrote on his violin and Sanji was cooking lunch in the kitchen. After seeing what everyone else was doing, Nami turned her attention back on the sky.

It amazed her how after two years, everyone was still the same. Well, from a personality stand point. Looks wise, they had changed. She had developed a lot more as well as grown taller. She had grown her orange hair out long enough to reach her waist and it also carried more of a wave to it than it did before. Robin had also become more developed over the two years apart and has also grown out her dark black hair past her waist. Franky had turned himself into some SUPER robot (that's what he calls himself) and now has huge arms, a huge chest, and a nose that can change his hairstyle by clicking on it. He still, however, wears his signature speedos. Usopp has grown manlier. He no longer wears a bandana on his head but a white beach hat. His hair has grown curlier and he has grown more toned since she had last seen him. Chopper looks relatively the same (you can't really change a reindeer). He now has a blue helmet over his hat and can now apparently change into many different forms now instead of just three. Brooke looks exactly the same except with more of a rock star look. Luffy has changed somewhat. He has grown a lot more muscular and now daunts a painful looking red x across his chest. He wears a quarter length sleeve, red shirt that remains open with his blue jean shorts. He still has his signature sandals and of course his strawhat tied around his rubber neck. Sanji has now parted his hair to the other side (he does have two matching swirly brows) and has grown a small goatee. He still wears his signature suits, but you can tell he has grown a lot more muscular as well.

Nami then drew her full attention to the sleeping swordsman. To her, he has changed the most appearance wise. He no longer wears a white shirt but a dark green yukata. He has his black pants a black shoes from before as well as his green haramaki. He now also supports a red sash that safely keeps his three swords in place. His black bandana is tied over his left arm. He still also has his three earrings dangling from his ear. He has grown a lot more muscular and tan. His mossy green hair is also slightly longer. What has changed the most to Nami is the dramatic looking scar that runs across Zoro's left eye. If she thought that the scar across his chest was scary, this one (with the other one combined) makes him look like a demon.

Nami had been staring at the swordsman for a while now and it didn't go unnoticed. Robin looked up from her history book to look at the navigator. "Find something you like, Navigator-san?"

Nami turned to the woman who asked her the question. A blush started staining her cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, um, no I was just, um, you know…checking out how everyone has changed over the years…"

Robin started chuckling, with a small grin forming on her face. "I understand very well. I did the same on the first day back. It is quite amazing how everyone can remain the same, however, still be changed."

Nami stared at the woman with a confusing look on her face. "Huh? Be the same but be changed? Oh, I guess you are talking about their appearances. Well yeah. It is interesting I guess."

Robin just looked at Nami with a grin on her face and then turned her attention back on her book. While reading, she said to Nami, "I also agree with you that swordsman-san has changed the most. He is much more attractive now. Don't you think?"

Nami's mouth dropped open. "Yeah he really i..wait..what! No, Robin! You are crazy! He is still the muscle-headed, debt owing marimo head from before. That will never change."

"Whatever you say miss navigator." And with that Robin's full attention went back to her book. Nami turned back to look at the sleeping swordsman. She has to admit. He looks a lot more attractive. When she had first joined the crew, she had noticed how handsome he really was. Especially when it was just her , him and Luffy. I mean, a girl can look can't she? He is also strong and extremely loyal. Not to mention a good drinking partner. But, he can be mean, rude, and downright stupid. Nami sighed and turned her head to look back up. That's when she noticed something . There was something big, blue, and round coming towards her. Before she could figure out what it was, she was soaking wet.

Nami shot up in her chair and turned to find the source of the sudden water. When she looked, she found Luffy holding a bucket, with Usopp slowly backing away from the scene while Chopper was hiding behind a door (the wrong way). Luffy looked at Nami's face, which was slowly turning red with anger.

"Luffy, what was in that bucket a second ago?"

Luffy looked at the bucket then back at her with a blank stare on his face. "Water? Duh, Nami. What else do you put in a bucket? Shisisish, your funny."

That was not the response Luffy should have given the now soaking wet navigator. Nami sent him flying across the deck and over the side into the ocean. Usopp and Chopper fled the scene as quickly as they could. Hearing the whole scene, Zoro got up, took off his coat and shoes, and dove into the water to save their hammer of a captain. He emerged a couple of minutes later and threw their unconscious captain unto the deck of the ship. He then lifted himself up and began stepping on Luffy's stomach, pumping the water out of his body, all the while, mumbling every profanity under his breath.

"You had to go and do something stupid, didn't ya Luffy."

After a couple of pumps, all the water had exited Luffy's body and he was back on his feet running around with Chopper and Usopp on the opposite side of Nami. Nami looked from the trio to Zoro, who was getting the water out of his pants. She took the time to admire his toned, tanned body and wet green hair that was hanging just right over his handsom….WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?! She can't have these thoughts about Zoro. Stupid, swords-for-brains Zoro. She quickly shook her head and resumed her seat next to Robin. At that moment, Sanji came twirling out of the kitchen with some type of smoothie for the two ladies. Before depositing the drinks, he turned to look at the shirtless swordsman. "Oi, put a shirt on marimo head, no one wants to see you looking like that."

"Shut up, dartboard brow. Why don't you just make your sissy drinks and let me be."

"What did you just say to me?!"

Nami, not wanting to deal with an argument at the moment, spoke up and said," Oh Sanji-kun! Is that a smoothie? I am so thirsty. Do you think I could have it?" No sooner had she spoken the words that Sanji was at her side, flaunting all over her.

"Of course my dear Nami-swan! A beautiful princess, such as yourself, deserves only the best to quinch her thirst. And I am here to serve your every need! And the same goes for you to Robin-chwan!"

And with that, Sanji did his noodle dance while delivering the drinks, and made his way back to the kitchen.

Nami took a sip and sighed with how delicious it was._ Sanji has really gotten to be a better chef than two years before._ Nami looked back at the now again sleeping swordsman and sighed. What was her deal? She suddenly wished Zoro would draw his attention up here towards her. Every other guy would be all over her, especially since she is only in a skimpy bikini. She looked to Robin, who was still reading, and then sighed again. That's when she turned her head back to the left. A large island was right in from of them. She suddenly got up and screamed "LAND HOOO!" Everyone came to the large figurehead at the front of the ship. They all had huge smiles on their faces. Luffy was sitting on top of the lion figure head, grinning as large as he possibly could.


	2. Chapter 2

They docked their ship and began to survey the island. From what they could tell, this was a safe haven for pirates. They should not have to be worrying about marines while docked here. Nami turned to look at her crew mates and started giving orders.

"OK. So we need to decide who will stay here and who will go. I need to go find out how long it will take for the Log Pose to set as well as check out some of the shops."

Robin spoke next," I would love to go to the bookstore and check out a few history books if that is ok?"

"Oi! Robin, may I join you? I would love a few new medical books. And I need to restock on some medical supplies," exclaimed Chopper.

"I will also need to go into town to restock on some more food supplies since our bottomless pit of a captain keeps eating everything in the fridge," glared Sanji at Luffy.

"Oh, Franky and I need to go get spare parts for some new inventions we want to try out," said Usopp excitedly.

"Ok, so that's me, Robin, Chopper, Franky, Usopp, and Sanji all needing to go into town. Luffy will go with Sanji to help him pick out food and Zoro will come with me. That means Brooke will stay behind to guard the ship."

"Oh, Nami-swan, I will be honored to guard the Thousand Sunny from any danger that might approach it."  
"Oi! Hold it! Who said anything about me going with you? I can stay here and help Brooke." Zoro was not happy to be volunteered to go with Nami. He knows that if he goes with her it will end up with him carrying all her shopping bags while having to also follow her around to every shop in the area.

"Oh Zoro, I hope you haven't forgotten the debt that you started two years ago. If you want to become debt free one day, it would help if you tried to pay some of it off. Go with me and I might take off some of what you owe."

"Tsk, fine. But I expect a good amount to come off of the debt this time and not just 200 beri." And with that, everyone had their partners and tasks. They all left the ship and went their separate ways, agreeing to meet back at the ship before it got too dark outside.

Nami and Zoro had finally reached the shopping district (after many wrong directions from Zoro and Nami having to drag him onto the right roads). There were all kinds of shops here. Over a dozen clothing and shoe stores, a couple of bookstores, several resteraunts, and even a swords shop. Zoro's attention went directly to the swords shop in the far corner. He started walking towards it, that is, until Nami grabbed his arm and dragged him into a clothing store. She set him down on the couch in front of the dressing room and told him not to move. She then went off and grabbed some clothes then came back to try them on.

"Oi, Nami. Can't I just go over to the swords shop real quick while you try on clothes. I can meet up with you a little later."

"Zoro, if you go over there, who is going to tell me what looks good and what doesn't?" As soon as she said that, she stepped out of the dressing room wearing a strapless, green vertical stripped dress that ended at her mid-thigh. It fit her figure perfectly and hugged all the right places while also giving off a good amount of cleavage.

"So, what about this dress? Does it look good? I want your honest opinion." She hoped that he would say she looked absolutely beautiful. That he would really admire her and show her a little more attention now that it was just her, standing there in a good looking dress.

"Yeah. Looks good, can I go now?" She could feel her face starting to boil. That was definitely not the reaction she wanted.

"No you may not go now. And Yeah? Just Yeah? Not, wow that looks really good on you, you should totally get it. Stupid swordsman." And with that, she stormed back into the dressing room.

"eh, touchy" whispered Zoro. Nami tried on a few more outfits and go pretty much the same reaction form the swordsman. She decided to buy the green dress and a couple of other things and then leave. On their way to the checkout counter, a woman walked up to also pay for some purchases. She looked to be about 25 with a much defined figure. Long, sultry legs that were a rich tan color and long blonde hair that came to her waist. She had striking blue eyes that were all over Zoro. Wait, Zoro? Nami looked to see Zoro staring blankly out the window at the swords shop. The woman moved closer, grazing Zoro's arm. He turned to look at her and whispered a "sorry for bumping into you" before diverting his attention back to the window. The woman was not about to give up.

She replied to his apology. "Oh, no my mistake. It seems I ran into your toned arms. How much do you work out?"

Zoro turned to face the woman and was about to reply but Nami took it upon herself to reply for him. "He works out nonstop, that is why I broke up with him. But he said he would work out less and so I took him back. Isnt that right sweetie?"

Nami grabbed Zoro's hand and held it in hers. He looked at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. Nami payed for her things then turned back to the woman and said, "Nice talking to you" before turning to the door and leaving.

Once outside, Zoro yanked his hand from Nami's and looked at her with a confused look.

"What the heck was that about?"

Nami just looked at his casually and said, "What was what? I don't know what you are talking about. Do you want to go look at swords or not." And with that Zoro said nothing and they went inside the shop. The rest of the day went pretty much like that. Women would come up and flirt with Zoro, who was clueless, and Nami would claim that they were together. Once back on the ship, they noticed that everyone was in the kitchen eating dinner. Before walking in, Zoro grabbed Nami's arm and turned her to face him.

"Ok, so the first time I let it slide, but what was with the constant story of us dating. Was it because all those women were coming up to flirt with me?" Ok, maybe he isn't so clueless.

Nami stared at him for a bit before tearing her gaze away. She replied with, "Those women were up to no good. They looked like the kind to steal your money, and I should know that kind. I was just protecting what is rightfully mine and that is the money that is in your pocket. Nothing more. Now I am hungry so let's go eat." She turned and walked into the kitchen leaving Zoro standing there.

It only took a couple of hours for the Log Pose to set. So they were sailing away from the island as soon as they arrived. Everyone assumed their positions. Robin and Nami were sunbathing while Robin was reading one of her many new books. Chopper was making some new medicines out of the supplies he got. Usopp and Luffy were fishing (Luffy ate a lot of the meat). Franky was tinkering with a new toy. Brooke was drinking some tea on the lawn. Sanji was cooking some type of snack for the ladies and Zoro was training upstairs in the Crow's nest. Nami's attention went up towards the nest. She could faintly see Zoro training…shirtless. She sighed as she could feel herself blushing. Robin turned her attention to the navigator. "Something the matter miss navigator?"

"Robin, what would you say if I was hypothetically attracted to one of our nakama?"

"Well, hypothetically, would this nakama be the swordsman-san?"

"What! No! Well, I mean, sure I guess we could use him as the example."

"I would say, how long has this attraction been happening?"

"It has been happening since he first saved me from Buggy the pirate in Orange Town."

"I see. And is this just a physical attraction or an emotional and mental one as well?"

"All of the above."

"And does he share this same attraction?"

Sigh. "No, he probably doesn't. He probably never will…"

Nami turned to look at Robin straight in the face. "Remember, this was all hypothetical. None of it was my true feelings. Ok?"

"Whatever you say navigator-san." And with that, Robin turned back to her book.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that afternoon, everyone was still doing relatively the same as they were that morning. Except now the swordsman had come down for lunch and was now asleep on the lawn. Brooke was playing some soothing music while Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy played a card game. Nami had set up a table on the deck to draw the island they were recently at and Robin was in the library reading another book. She didn't really know what Franky was doing. Sanji was cleaning up from lunch and prepping for dinner. It was rather peaceful and quiet, a rare thing for this crew. That's when it all went downhill.

Luffy decided that quiet was too well quiet and he wanted to play a game. He, Usopp, and Chopper decided to test out some new modifications to Usopp's slingshot. They started shooting anything they could find. Nami couldn't take all the screaming and random whistles from what was being shot. She stormed down to knock some sense into them when she slipped on one of the egg stars that had been shot from the slingshot. She ended up sliding right into Zoro and landed on his lap with a thud. Instinctively, Zoro had one arm supporting Nami's head, while his other arm went to cradle her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck as to brace herself and closed her eyes to avoid any physical pain that was to come her way. However, she felt none and then opened her eyes. She noticed how Zoro had caught her. She looked him in his good eye and felt the blush that was creeping up on her face. He looked so handsome up close. His features were so defined and he almost had a softness about him. She forgot about the position they were in and just stared at him. He was talking to her and so were the other three, but she heard none of it and just continued to stare at him.

"Oi, Nami! Do you think you could get off my lap?"

She shook her head. She had heard that. "What? Oh, oh yeah. Hehe sorry." She stood up and went back to her map making. Zoro stared after her and then closed his eye to get some more sleep, but not before saying "Weird woman."

Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper started at what just happened. They too thought it was strange how Nami didn't lash out at them or charge Zoro with some made up debt about how he was holding her. They looked at each other, shrugged, then went back to their game.

Later that night at dinner, everyone was sitting around the table. Luffy was stealing off of peoples plates and everyone was yelling at him. Nami took this distraction as a chance to sneak a glance at Zoro. She ended up staring longer than she thought because Robin asked her "See something you want Nami-san?".

"Huh? OH! Uhh hehe. Robin, I have no clue what you are talking about."

"You have been staring at swordsman-san for all of dinner now. Are you sure you don't want to tell me something?"

"…..Can we talk after dinner?"

"Sure we can miss navigator."

After dinner, Robin and Nami made their way to the woman's quarters. Nami sat on her bed and Robin sat on hers. After a long period of silence, Nami finally spoke. "So, you saw me looking at Zoro?"

"I did indeed. You have been looking at him ever since we got back together. And I noticed that you have been staring at him a lot more today, especially after the incident that happened on the deck."

"You saw that! But but how? Oh wait..sigh…ok. While sitting there on his lap with him holding me like that, it's like all the doubts I had about liking him went away and I knew for sure that I have feelings for him. He is just my type. He doesn't put up with my attitude, he likes to argue but he protects me from everything. He is always the one to save me. Not to mention that he is very handsome and physically fit. How could I ever doubt my feelings for him? They started when he first saved me from Buggy. I have just been fooling myself with thinking that I didn't like him."

"Miss navigator, why not tell me all of this before? I can help you , you know."

"I'm sorry Robin, but I know Zoro doesn't feel the same way. He is too much of a muscle head. He focuses too much on his dream and his promise. But watching those women flirt with him the other day proved to be too much for me. I can't stand the thought of other women liking him. The worst part is, he knew that they were flirting with him and he didn't react in anyway. If he didn't react to them, whose to say he would react to me?"

"I believe that before you can even focus on kenshisan, you must first focus on yourself. Would you like to be with Zoro or with the idea of Zoro?"

"The idea? You mean the Zoro in my head or the real Zoro? Well, hmm. The real one. I like talking to him and being with him. He is my….soulmate." Nami stoped talking to lay down and stare at the ceiling. _Soulmate? Really? I didn't think I could feel this type of feeling for a long time. The feeling of trust, loyalty, love. Love? Yeah, love. After Arlong, I developed love for all my nakama. But especially Zoro. He accepted me no matter what. Well so did Luffy, but Zoro looked into my eyes and knew that I didn't want to be with the fishmen. That's when I for sure knew I loved him. Today was just the icing on the cake. _

Nami looked back at Robin, "I love him." And with that, she turned over and fell asleep. Robin looked and her and smiled, "I have always known and now so do you."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Nami woke up to cold weather. She was only wearing a tank top and some shorts when she stepped out of her cabin. Instinctively, she hugged her body and rubbed her arms to keep warm. Over the night, they had landed at a winter island. She assumed the others had gone and explored the island, leaving her alone on the ship. Well, in all honesty, this was what she wanted. She wanted to be away from Zoro for a while. To be by herself and draw some maps sounded great to her. It was then she noticed that she wasn't cold anymore. She felt what was around her body and saw that it was a green blanket. She looked up to see the swordsman standing next to her, looking at the island. So much for not being around him.

"The others already left to explore. They left you and me to guard the ship. Hope you don't mind, but I am going to train. This weather will be a great resistance for some muscle building." And Zoro left her with her thoughts and went to go grab his weights. He dropped back down to the deck, took off his coat and began his warmup. All Nami could do was stare. He was making it very difficult for her to avoid any feelings for him. Yes, she loved him, but that doesn't mean she can act on it. They were part of a crew. Crew meant more than just the two of them, which means that any relationship could ruin friendships in the crew and possible result in the loss of a crew member. With those thoughts in her mind, Nami went back inside to get dressed and work on some maps.

A little while later, she was starting to feel kinda hungry. "I wonder if Sanji left anything for me to eat." She got up to go exploring in the kitchen for some food. When she walked in, she noticed Zoro standing at the stove, cooking something that smelled delicious. "Did Sanji leave us something to eat?"

Zoro turned to look at her and said, "Nope, he raced off after Robin when she mentioned exploring, forgetting about leaving anything behind for us for lunch. Not that it would have mattered anyway, Luffy would have probably eaten it before he left. I made this."

She sniffed in the scent again and it filled her with warmth. "What is it? It smells wonderful." She wasn't sure if it really did smell wonderful or if she was really that hungry.

"I made a soup with some of the vegetables and spices that were in the fridge. I might not be a chef, but I can make some stuff. It should be ready soon." He turned back to turn the soup and add some salt for flavoring.

Nami looked at his back. He had put back on his coat and another on top of that. He must be pretty cold from training in the cold. "Why don't I go get some sake from the basement. I know where Sanji hides the good stuff. Might help with warming us up a bit."

"That sounds good to me." Nami got up and went to go get the sake from the basement. When she returned, Zoro and poured the soup into two bowls and had set them on the table. She sat down with the two bottles of sake and gave one to Zoro. He in return gave her a bowl of soup. She took a bite and closed her eyes. It tasted as wonderful as it smelled. The way the vegetables intertwined with each other set her taste buds on fire. She opened her eyes to see Zoro staring at her smugly. "What?"

"Do you like it?"

"It is amazing. Where did you learn to cook?"

"When you are a bounty hunter, you pick up a few things in your travels. I was staying with an old man who taught me how to cook this soup and a couple of other things. He said I would need to know incase I was ever alone and needed to eat. Turns out he was right."

"Wait, if you knew how to cook, why did you never cook before. When it was just you, me, and Luffy?"

"Eh, never felt like I needed to. Your cooking was good enough until we got dartboard brow."

"You mean you could have been helping me?" Nami could feel a tick mark forming on her forehead.

Zoro knew that he needed to defuse this situation and quickly.

"Im sorry! Look I am helping now! See!"

"..fine…but im adding 10,000 beri to your debt for not pitching in before."

"dang, greedy, witch"

They finished their soup and decided to just spend a little more time in the kitchen, taking in the warmth around them. Nami decided to ask what had been on her mind for a couple of days now.

"Hey, Zoro. You told me that you knew those women were flirting with you in the shops the other day. Why didn't you react back to them? You just stared at them like they were crazy."

"Yeah I knew they were flirting, but that didn't mean I was going to flirt back. First, they were too old."

"Most of them were only 25!"

"Still, if I was to be interested in someone, I would want them to be younger than me."

Nami blushed when she heard this. She was one year younger than Zoro.

"Second, they aren't my type. I like woman who can keep up with me attitude wise. Who aren't going to go all love cook on me. I like my women smaller than me who have a fiery attitude."

Now Nami was really red. From the way he described his woman, it sounded like he was interested in her. She was exactly who he had described. She was younger, smaller, and definitely didn't put up with his crap on a daily basis. She looked at Zoro now, waiting for him to continue.

"And lastly, I am just not interested in a relationship right now."

And that's when she felt her hopes crash. He wasn't interested in a relationship? She knew her face displayed some type of hurt cause that's what she felt. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair while taking her eyes off of him.

If Zoro didn't know any better, he would say Nami looked a bit hurt. He felt that he should further explain.

"But that doesn't mean that if the right woman came along I wouldn't go after her. I'm just waiting right now. Patience is key. To women and to swordsmanship."

She looked back at him. She felt a little better after hearing that.

"So, what is your type Nami?"

She snapped out of her day dream to answer his question. "Well, I like my men a little older, not too much. I also like them tall and muscular. I like someone who doesn't agree to everything I say. I like to have someone who will keep up with my arguments. Someone who is loyal and that I know will save me no matter what. But, I am like you in that I am waiting for my perfect guy."

Zoro looked at her. From the way she described her guy, it sounded a lot like him. He blew that thought away. A relationship with him and Nami wouldn't work. There are too many complications and people involved. It would be like having a relationship with nine people instead of two.

"So we are both waiting. I believe one day we will find them and accomplish our dreams while we are at it." Zoro raised his bottle and toasted with her. Nami did the same and they made an unspoken promise that one day, they will find their true loves.

Later that night, the rest of the crew returned. Nami had finished her map of the next island and was excited to get a chance to explore tomorrow. It was pretty late. Robin had been reading in the library and just walked into the room to finish reading in there. Nami stood up to stretch and sat down on her bed. She looked a Robin and began to talk. "So is there a reason that Zoro and I were both left on the ship together today and no one else?"

Robin looked up from her book and smiled. "Well, I saw no need in waking you up and by the time I made my way outside, Zoro had already volunteered to stay behind so he could train."

"So it was pure coincidence and not intentional what-so-ever?"

"Right miss navigator." Robin gave a little wink while saying that.

Nami looked at her and smiled. "Well, I am glad it happened. I learned a lot more about him." Nami proceeded to tell Robin about the day she had with Zoro.

"So you both are waiting for your true loves. From the way you both described who you liked, you both are a match made in heaven. This is a good thing miss navigator; you have a good shot at him you know."

"I know, but he was pretty set on waiting. Maybe I can start getting him interested now though. Do you think he would go with me tomorrow to do some exploring on the island?"

"I believe he would since he stayed on the ship today. What do you plan on doing?"

"I am going to flirt with him and show him that I am the woman he has been waiting for. Tomorrow will be the first day. It can't be too hard. I already fit most of what he wants, I will just take it up a notch."

"That sounds like a good plan miss navigator, however, just be careful and make sure you don't take it too far. You wouldn't want him turning away from you or possibly messing up a friendship now would you."

"No, you are right. I promise I will not take it over board. Tomorrow starts day one of Operation Get Zoro." And with that, Nami laid down and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Nami woke up the next morning feeling excited and anxious. _Ok, today is the day I put my flirting skills to the test. I have to be really careful about this. I can't risk ruining a friendship and making things awkward for the crew._

She got out of bed and walked over to her closet. It is a winter island, but that doesn't mean she still can't wear her usual skimpy outfits. _Hmm, let's see. I can wear the new coat I just bought. It looks good against my hair._ She picked up the new coat. It was a blue and green stripped fleece jacket. It was tight towards the waist and allowed a good view of her chest. She smiled to herself_. There is no way he will be able to resist._ She now had to decide what to wear underneath it. Her eye caught a green, floral dress that she had purchased several islands ago_. Ehh, kinda beachy, but it could work. _She put on the dress and it fit like a glove. It ended about mid-thigh (like most of her outfits) and had spaghetti strapped sleeves. She also put on a pair of tight jeans and tucked them into her snow boots. She turned to look at herself in the mirror_. There, I look pretty good._ She let her hair cascade down her back in beachy waves and added a winter hat to complete the look. She looked really good, but would it be enough? She realized that her outfit had a lot of green in it. _Ok I must be thinking about him a lot if everything I wear is green_. And with that she left her cabin to begin the day.

She entered unto the deck and noticed that nobody was out there. She figured everyone must be eating so she headed off towards the kitchen. Everyone was seated in their normal spots looking starved.

"NAMI! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LOOONG! SANJI WOULDN'T LET US EAT WITHOUT YOU." Luffy looked at her from his slumped position on the table. "Why are you dressed like that? Are you going somewhere?"

Everyone now turned to look at the slightly embarrassed Nami. "Well as a matter of fact, I am. I figured since I stayed on the boat yesterday, I could go exploring today."

Everyone nodded in agreement while Nami took her spot at the table. She was seated in between Robin and Chopper. Across from her was the swordsman. He looked a little amused. _Huh, wonder what he is thinking about_. Sanji dashed over to Nami and gave her and Robin their plates.

"This was made with all the care in the world and it is a token of my love for you beautiful ladies." It was his daily love speech that they had heard over a thousand times. Nami looked at him with a smile and accepted her plate, ignoring the noodle dance he was currently doing. Robin did the same and with that Sanji delivered the rest of the food to the men.

Zoro was eating when he noticed Nami giving him small glances as she sat across from him at the table. _She must think that I can't see. Sigh, there is no telling what she has in store for me today. I can feel that she has some type of plan. _He looked up at her for a full glance. _She looks good, I wonder if our talk about relationships yesterday has anything to do with that. _He grinned_. She must think that I am really clueless._ He then went back to eating, dodging Luffy's attempts at stealing his food.

Nami noticed the glance and felt her cheeks starting to turn red. Chopper saw this and instantly got worried.

"EHH? Nami are you ok? You are looking a little red? ARE YOU SICK? DO YOU NEED A DOCTOR?" Chopper was starting to get really worried which drew the attention of everyone else at the table.

"No No! Chopper! Hehe, I am not sick. It is just cold so I think my cheeks are just getting a little red from the weather. I don't need a doctor and besides if I did need one, that would be you."

Chopper calmed down at her words and went back to eating. He would look at her now and then just to make sure she was really ok.

Nami dodged a bullet on that one. She leaned close to Robin to talk to her.

"Ok so today is the day I put my plan into action." Nami had a big grin on her face.

Robin took a sip of coffee and then turned to the navigator with a smile. "And what plan would that be?"

Nami looked at her then her smile dropped. _You know, I don't really think I have a true plan. I just assumed that it would all work out in my head. We would go exploring and bond more and that he would instantly fall in love with me._ She turned away from Robin and stared down at her food. What was she going to do?

Robin saw this and leaned towards her. "Before you go, let's have a chat in our room for a second. I won't to discuss this "plan"."

The two women went back to their cabins after breakfast to discuss the plan. Nami sat down on her bed with her head in her hands feeling defeated. "What was I thinking! He probably didn't even notice my outfit let alone any flirting I tried to give during breakfast. I need something that I know will draw his attention. Robin, what do I do?" Nami looked at her with pleading eyes.

Robin looked down at the navigator and sighed. _She needs help_. I might have something. "Nami, for this trip try being yourself and see how it goes. After today, we can establish a better plan but try to find out as much about the swordsman as possible. Establish a connection before you do anything drastic."

Nami contemplated her words. Robin was right; she needed to make sure that she and Zoro had a spark. "Robin, are there any towns on this island?"

"Yes actually. There is a small town up towards the base of the snow mountain. It is towards the center. It has a couple of shops and restaurants. Why, what are you thinking?" Robin gave her a small grin as if she knew all along what Nami was thinking.

"I'm thinking that Zoro and I will explore and head to the town. There we could shop and eat. It would be like a mini date! But, he wouldn't have to know. It is worth a shot and there might be some yelling, but, I think I could find that spark if it was just the two of us. Alone. In privacy." Nami looked at Robin with a hopeful glance. She knew it wasn't a plan at all and just a wing-it type day but she didn't care. She and Zoro were going to go on a "secret date" (or as Luffy would call it a mystery date) and she was perfectly fine with that.

Nami left the cabin in search of the swordsman. _Hmm, it's cold and windy. He might be up in the crow's nest._ She was right. She could see his silhouette up in the nest, lifting two ton weights. She decided to climb up to where he was instead of shouting._ I need to be as nice as possible to him. I can't just bark at him from below. _She made her way up and opened the trap door. "Zoro?"

Zoro turned around and looked at her. _Oh boy, here it comes. Any second now she is going to badger me with the ever raising debt I owe her just so I can do her a favor._ He put down his weights and walked to wear Nami had come from. "Yeah?"

Nami looked at him and then turned her head away quickly. "I was wondering if you would come with me to go explore the island today? Since it was the two of us on the boat yesterday while everyone else went exploring, I figured you might want to go out and look at the island…with me." Nami finished her statement in an almost whisper type voice. _Why can't I look at him or talk to him? I think I am getting sick._

Zoro stared at her dumbfounded. _She wants me to go with her to look at the island. She asked nicely and didn't charge or threaten to charge anything to my debt._ "Oi, Nami. Are you sick?"

She looked at him confused. _Can he read my thoughts_? "Um, no? Why would you say that?"

"Because you just asked me to join you nicely and you didn't charge me anything or threaten me with my debt."

"Can't someone just be nice without getting questioned for it?" She punched him on top of his head, sending him to the floor with a lump forming from where he was punched.

"Ow witch! I was just asking!" Zoro sat crisscross and rubbed his sore head.

_Whoops, that might have been the wrong approach. _"Sigh, look I am sorry. I was just wanting to see if you wanted to go with me but if you don't then it is fine, I will go by myself." Nami turned to leave through the door when Zoro stood up and held a hand out to stop her.

"No, look I will go with you. It might be good for me to get off this ship anyway. Just let me go grab some clothes and I will meet you on the lower deck." He turned and went down the ladder.

Nami stood there awestruck. _He is going with me? He is going with me! It worked! Ok now to start that connection._ Nami went down the ladder, grinning a Luffy size grin. Today was going to be a good day, she just knew it.


	6. Chapter 6

Zoro and Nami made their way onto the island. Nami looked at her surroundings. There were three tall mountains at the center of the island with what looked like a small town at the base of them. She could feel her cheeks starting to blush from her excitement. _Ok, so we will go to town and have dinner and maybe do a little shopping. I will start my flirting stage and see where it goes from there. This day will be perfect! _

What Nami didn't notice was a slick pond that had frozen over. While thinking about Zoro, she slipped and twisted her ankle while almost falling on her butt. She closed her eyes, ready for the impact, but when she didn't feel it, she opened them. Zoro had seen the display going down and had rushed over to catch her. However, he slipped on the ice and fell face first under her. Nami noticed that instead of falling on the ice, she was now sitting on Zoro's back.

"Whoops. Um, hehe, sorry?"

"MOKDffkhflDKasdf sdfaehfk!"

"I'm sorry what was that?"

"I said can you please GET OFF OF ME!"

"Oh! Yeah! Sorry!"

Nami stood up to let Zoro get off the ice. As she tried walking, she almost fell again. The pain in her ankle was too much for her to walk on. She started falling again but felt strong arms catch her this time. Zoro had caught her at her front. Her face was inches away from his. She looked into his deep, dark eyes. _Wow, he is so handsome. His eyes are so mysterious. I wonder what he is thinking_. He did the same but not like she was. _Is she ok? Oh, I see. Hehe. I guess I could play this._

"See something you want?" Zoro snapped her out of her daydream and she looked at the smug grin on his face.

"No! I was just, um, trying not to focus on the pain in my ankle. I think I twisted it when I fell on the ice."

"You mean when you fell on me." He mumbled that to himself. He bent down to get a look at her ankle. He could tell that it was swollen through the boot, but not broken.

"Ok, yep you hurt it. Climb on my back and I will take you to that town and we can get some help. It is too far to walk back to the ship."

Nami did as she was told (not that she had a problem with it) and climb on his back. Zoro held on to her and started making his way towards the town. Nami would shout at him if they went the wrong way. As they were getting closer to the base of the mountains, Nami rested her head on his muscled back and closed her eyes._ He is so strong and sweet to carry me. I guess he must care about me. I didn't ask him to do this_. She looked up at the back of his head. _I wonder if he would ever like me more than nakama. Well, I guess I will have to see._

They reached the town a few minutes later. It wasn't as small as Nami thought it was going to be. There were several large buildings that looked government official, but not world government, just local. There were also several restaurants and stores that looked mildly expensive. Zoro wondered around for a few minutes until he found a local resident walking past them.

"Oi, excuse me."

The man turned towards Zoro and gave him a smile. "Hi! Welcome to Yukiyama Village! Do you two need help?" He leaned to look at Nami on Zoro's back. Zoro shifted to wake Nami up.

"We are looking for a doctor. She twisted her ankle and I wanted to get it looked at to make sure it is nothing too serious."

The man looked startled! "Of course! My name is Tom by the way. Allow me to help you! I am actually the mayor of this town. Our doctor is right up the way. I will take you to him."

He turned and Zoro followed with Nami yawning and asking where they were.

"We made it to the village and are going to the doctor. This is Tom, he is the mayor."

Nami looked towards him with a curious look then a smile. Tom was a medium size, medium height man with floppy long hair. He looked to be about mid-30s and he was rather handsome.

Tom led them inside a building that wasn't very elaborate looking.

"Hey, Kenta! I have a patient for ya."

A man came out of the back room wearing a doctor's coat and rather casual clothes underneath. He looked to be about 50 with thinning, gray hair that was combed over on top of his head.

"Oh! Well, hello there! My name is Dr. Kenta. How can I help you two today?"

"My friend here slipped on ice and twisted her ankle. Well, at least we hope it is just twisted. We were wondering if you could take a look."

"Of course! Put her on that table over there."

Zoro did as he was told and set Nami down on a patient table.

"Let's have a look, shall we?"

They took off Nami's boot and sock. The doctor got close to examine the ankle. It had turned nasty colors of blue and purple and was the size of a fist.

"Oh dear. You did a dozy of a job here. How did you say you hurt it again?"

"Well, I um. We were walking and I didn't see the pond in front of me and slipped on the ice." She hoped she didn't have to elaborate more. She wasn't about to tell everyone that she was thinking of the man next to her and was having day dreams about him that she didn't look in front of her and slipped.

"I know what pond you are talking about. How did you not see it? If I remember correctly, it is fairly large."

Zoro was curious to know the answer to this question as well. He had seen the pond and went around it. How did Nami not see it as well?

"I was, well you see_…" Oh great. Of course I am put into this situation. It is never easy is it._ "I guess I was looking at the large mountains instead of where I was going." There, maybe they will buy that.

They gave her curious glances. Well the mayor and doctor did. Zoro looked at her dumbfounded.

"You were looking at the mountains? Well no wonder you fell, baka. You aren't supposed to look at scenery that is way up ahead while walking."

Nami turned her attention to the swordsman. "Oh shut it! It could happen to anyone! Besides, in order to draw up a map, I have to see everything don't I?"

"Tsk, whatever..."

The doctor and mayor gave each other strange glances. "I take it you are a navigator?"

Nami turned towards the two men. The doctor took this time to wrap her ankle.

"I am. I am trying to make a map of the world. It is my dream." At the mention of her dream, a huge smile lit up Nami's face, taking her mind off Zoro and the ankle.

Zoro couldn't help but share a small smile with her. _Nami is cute when she talks about her dreams_. He then had a wide look on his face. _Wait, did I just say Nami was cute. Actually, I am not going to deny that, she is. But, I am not going to do anything more than think that._

The doctor finished with her ankle and handed her, her sock and shoe. "Doesn't matter. Just stay off of it for a week and you should be fine. However, it is rather late so you might want to think about finding a place to stay and find a restaurant. I am sure the mayor here can help with that."

"Sure I can! Let me go next door real quick and talk to Shelly, she is the owner of the towns Bed and Breakfast. I am sure she will have a room for the two of you and she can recommend some places to eat" He turned and left the doctor's office.

Zoro grabbed Nami's sock and boot and started putting it on her.

"I can do it you know."

"Just let me take care of it will ya. It is easier and quicker than you trying to do it yourself."

Zoro gently lifted her ankle and slid the sock on it. He then carefully slid her foot into her boot.

_He is so gentle. I can tell he is trying hard not to shove it into the boot. How nice and thoughtful. Ok, that was not so gentle. _Zoro had accidently put a little more force into getting her show one._ "_Sorry."Nami had been staring at Zoro when the doctor broke her concentration.

"So, are you two a couple?"

Zoro stood and addressed the doctor, "Yes, we are."

Nami looked at Zoro with a confused look on her face but turned to the doctor instead of pushing the subject any further.

"How much do we owe ya."

"Oh, don't worry about it! Consider this a welcome to our village."

Nami smiled warmly at the man. "Thank you."

The mayor returned a few minutes later and said that Shelly had one room available. Nami and Zoro gave each other wide stares.

"That's fine. Thank you for the help. We are going to head over there now." Zoro told Nami to get on his back and she did.

They walked next door to the older looking building. Inside, it was warm with a big fire in a great room. It had warm, rich colors on the walls and every piece of furniture was made with a rich fabric.

"You must be the couple the mayor was talking about! Please come in! I am Shelly, the owner and this is Kimmy, the receptionist."

Shelly was a tall woman with long, auburn hair that was a bit wavy. She wasn't full figured but she definitely wasn't skinny. Kimmy must have been her daughter because she looked exactly the same except with long black hair and more freckles across her face.

Nami looked at the two and smiled. "Hi, I am Nami and this is Zoro. The mayor told us that you had one room. Are you sure there isn't another one available?" She looked hopeful at the owner.

"Oh, I am afraid not. But you don't have to try to be modest for us. We know that you two are a couple and probably sleep in the same room anyway. You will be fine!" She gave a huge grin (not Luffy big) but still, quite large.

Zoro and Nami started at the woman. "But we are…."

"We are happy that you had a room available!" Zoro gave Nami a slight squeeze on her leg to tell her to go along with the story. "Can you take us to it? My girlfriend is tired from all the walking about would like to take a nap before we go out to eat."

"Of course! Kimmy! Please show this kind couple to their room."

Kimmy got up and gestured towards the two. "Please, follow me."

They reached a room down one hallway and opened the door. The room was fairly large. It had a big king sized bed in the middle with two side tables. The walls were a deep green and it had a little sitting area opposite the bed with a couch and a reading chair.

"Will this work for the two of you?"

"This will be just fine. Thank you."

Kimmy left and shut the door behind her. Zoro dropped Nami on the bed and turned to face her.

"Look, its best that we tell people we are a couple. It is less suspicious that way. Plus, I have a feeling that they will be willing to help us more if they think we are together."

Nami nodded her head. "I agree. It is easier this way. Thanks for all the help, but take a good look at that couch. It is your bed for tonight. Now I am going to take you up on that offer about a nap. See ya in a bit." She turned over and closed her eyes. _I really want him next to me in this bed, but this is not how I wanted to start anything with him. I want to take things slow but also show that I am not so eager about him. Am I even making sense to myself? Sigh, I really want him next to me. _

Zoro looked at her sleeping form and smiled. _She is really trying to fool me into thinking that she doesn't want me next to her._ He turned to look at the couch. _Doesn't look like a sleeping couch._ He then turned to look at the other side of the bed. _She won't even know I am here._ He walked to the other side and laid down. Nami looked up at him with a confused look on her face.

"I thought I told you the couch?"

"Doesn't look comfortable. This is. Get over it. It is plenty big enough for the both of us. Now, I am going to take a nap. Try not to wake me." He closed his eye and went to sleep.

Nami started at him for a bit and smiled_. I will gladly get over it. Goodnight, Zoro_. And she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Nami awoke to the birds singing outside the window. "Hmm, what a great way to wake up!"

"Are you talking about me?

Nami jumped a bit. "Huh?" She was still a bit hazy about the events of yesterday. She looked up to see Zoro starting down at her. She looked back down to see her head on his chest and her arms wrapped around him. Nami shot up and scooted away from Zoro. _Huh, what a really great way to wake up. Wait a second…_ "Wha..what in the world?!"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing." Zoro yawned loudly and scratched his face. "I just woke up and saw you on top of me, guess you just can't stay away." He gave her his classic smug grin. Nami could feel her face starting to heat up. "No, no. There is probably a good explanation. I probably just thought you were a pillow. Yeah, that is what happened. I must have rolled over and rest my head on top of you because I thought you were a pillow." Nami turned to partially hide her blush, but also to find that her pillow had fallen on the ground. She grabbed it and turned back towards Zoro. "See, it fell last night. This all makes since now. Although, none of this would have happened if a certain someone would have slept on the couch, like I told them to."

Zoro's grin fell. "What! No, tomato face, this is not my fault or my problem. You just like being around me is all." He turned to look outside the window and noticed that it was snowing pretty hard outside. "Huh, it's pretty rough outside. No need to get in a hurry back to the ship. Let's figure out a plaHMPHHOKJGO!"

Zoro felt himself go tumbling off the bed. He had a huge bump forming and his face felt pretty hot from the impact. "What the..what was that for?!"

Nami had smacked Zoro across the face with her pillow. "TOMATO FACE? Say that one more time MOSS HEAD!"

"Gosh! I didn't mean it! What is in that pillow of yours?" He started rubbing his face, "It felt like a ton of bricks just hit me in the face."

Nami, still angry, looked inside her pillow to find a silver box. "Oh, it's a box. A jewelry box. It has some type of inscription on it. To My Darling Rebecca, Never Forget Your Dreams. Love, Mommy and Papa. Well, we know who it belongs too. We should probably find RebWOAH!" Nami had gotten up to go sit in the sitting area to study the box some more. However, she forgot about her ankle. She fell face down and landed on the floor with the box on top of her.

Zoro sighed and walked over to Nami. "Baka, you hurt your ankle yesterday. You can't walk by yourself." He grabbed the box and set it on the table. He then helped Nami up and carried her bridal style over to the sitting area.

Nami was a bit fuzzy after just landing face down on the floor. She felt relief after the box had been taken off of her. She then felt really light as she noticed that somehow she was moving. _How am I moving?_ She opened her eyes to see Zoro carrying her. _Wow, I should fall more often. Wait, he is saying something to me._ "Huh?"

"I said, chair or couch."

"Oh, um the chair is fine." _He is so thoughtful to ask._

Zoro dropped Nami in a chair and walked over and sat on the couch.

_Ok, maybe not so thoughtful. That one hurt._ "Ya know, I'm not like the other guys. I do hurt and bruise and break."

"Yeah yeah, just open the box." _Man, she has been nothing but whiny and full of excuses this morning. Still, it was a great way to wake up. I will have to start "being her pillow" more often._

Nami took ahold of the box that was left on the table and opened it. Inside were necklaces, bracelets, and rings of all types of jewels. Nami's eyes turned into giant beri signs. "Wow! Look at all of this! I can't believe my luck! I wonder how and why they would just leave this in this room."

"My question is, if it was in your pillow, how did you not notice it."

Nami looked up from the box to give Zoro a puzzling look. "It wasn't there yesterday when I went to sleep." Nami's eyes got wide. "That would mean someone snuck in and left it here!"

Zoro sat up a little straighter. "Crap, how does that happen? Maybe you just didn't notice it."

"Idiot! I think I would notice a hard, silver box in a pillow I was resting my head on. You sure seemed to notice it too when I hit you across the face with it! Shall I do it again? Someone broke in. What if they are coming back for this?"

Zoro rubbed his head where he was hit. "Ok ok. Calm down. Look, I think I would have noticed if someone came in last night, second, we will be ready tonight for someone to come back. We now know that this box exists. We should hide it and go get some food. We never did eat last night, remember?"

Nami looked at Zoro and then back at the box. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I will put the box back in the pillow, but the jewels are going in my boot. I am not about to give those up."

"Greedy witch, can't even go to lunch without money weighing you down. Whatever. Let's just go. We also need to figure out when we are going back to the ship. How long does it take for the log pose to set?"

Nami looked down at her wrist. The log pose that was there last night was gone. "WHAT! WHERE IS THE LOG POSE?"

Zoro shot up from the couch, "What do you mean 'where is the log pose!' it should be on your wrist!"

Nami started panicking. "I know it should be but guess what, it isn't there. Look over by the bed and see if I dropped it or if it fell off."

Zoro did as he was told and walked over to the bed. He threw the sheets and pillows on the floor and couldn't find anything. He walked over to the bathroom and couldn't find anything in there either.

"There is nothing here, Nami. If someone did break in last night, they could have taken it off of your wrist. But why. Unless, they don't want us leaving this island for some reason."

Nami started panicking. "So someone broke in here last night, left a full jewelry box and took my log pose. Something is not right here but I don't really want to stick around to find out what. We have to get that log pose back. Unless there is a navigation shop here, we can't leave without it. Let's go get some food and look for clues." She tried to lift herself up, but she ended up falling back into the chair.

"Ugh, Nami. You have a hurt ankle. Just ask me to help you. It is not that hard to do." Zoro walked over to her and kneeled down to her level. "All you have to do is ask and I will help."

Nami stared at him and looked into his eyes. _How can he remain so calm and sweet and helpful in a time like this? I'm glad he is here and not Sanji. He would be eating this up. _"Fine, can you please help me Zoro?"

"See, now was that so hard." Zoro grabbed her hands and lifted her off of the chair. She lost a little balance and ended up falling into Zoro. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She lifted her head and was face to face with him. It was the same situation that had happened after she fell on the ice except, this time no one was moving away from the position. Zoro looked at Nami's face. _She really is beautiful and only one inch away from me. I could easily just lean in and… NO! No I.. I can't. Not yet at least_. _What am I saying? Not at all. That would be bad for the crew._

Nami noticed Zoro bringing his lips closer to hers. _Is he going to.. Kiss Me? This is it! The moment I have been waiting for! No wait, he pulled back. Darn, so close._

"I think we should get going. Climb on my back." He noticed Nami's sad expression.

"Huh? Oh, ok." She did as she was told and climbed on his back. They got their stuff together and left the room, hoping to figure out what was going on with their missing log pose and their blossoming relationship.


End file.
